The Undefeated

Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 2019

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Summary

Background

Poem Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Symbols & Motifs

The Great Egret

As the poem progresses, a number of birds appear on the pages, seemingly carrying the poem forward. The birds resemble great egrets: big, swanlike birds from the Americas. These birds are most known as the symbol for the National Audubon Society, which is an organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of birds.

While the symbolism of birds is a complicated and tricky subject, and no one bird consistently associates with one symbol, these birds do tend to be linked with things like perseverance and strength.

More generally, these birds are big, graceful, beautiful, and seeing them in flight is an image of freedom, openness, and possibilities.

In the poem, the birds first appear next to the images of various athletes. Right in front of the birds, there is a small butterfly, and right next to the butterfly is Muhammed Ali, who famously described his boxing style as floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee.

In the end of the poem, the birds seem to carry the past to the future, as they are the only image on the page next to Alexander’s lines about the past no longer being untitled, which leads to the final page which shows the faces of smiling children, representing the future and all the hope that comes with it.

“The Unspeakable”

Whenever Alexander describes the heroes of “The Undefeated,” he either references lines from their work, names them specifically, or uses puns to refer to the things they accomplished. Jesse Owens hurdled history and Jack Johnson boxed adversity, for example.

However, when Alexander mentions the atrocities of history, he refers to them as the unspeakable. The three images selected to represent the unspeakable are slavery, the terrorism that accompanied segregation, and police brutality. Alexander acknowledges these things but does not name them. This does a number of things. First, it acknowledges them as essential aspects of American history and important things to remember, but it also strips away the power and agency of the actual atrocities and instead focuses on the victims. Alexander does not want to focus here on those who benefited from the unspeakable or to put the focus on those who perpetuated the atrocities, as historical records and classes often do; instead, he wants the focus on those who were and continue to be affected. This gives them more agency and power. By highlighting their images and not speaking the names of the things that victimized them, Alexander is able to both acknowledge America’s historical crimes while not glorifying, romantacizing, or undermining them.